I’m a sucker for materials, whether it’s finished for loudspeakers and other audio equipment, a shoe’s fine, supple leather, a crisp cotton shirt, or a cozy cashmere scarf. Apart from their inherent sensuousness, materials can make a difference in the sonics of audio components, especially loudspeakers.
Exotic wood enclosures are old hat. Carbon fiber isn’t exotic anymore. Glass seems an odd choice for a loudspeaker enclosure—but that’s the choice made by Perfect8 speakers, which I encountered at T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach a few years back. And then there are the Jörn speakers from Denmark, which are made of iron; America’s OMA uses iron, too, in some of their designs. Fischer & Fischer uses enclosures made of slate.
Sonic energy seemed freed up. The combination of detail, attack speed, and energy made listening intense and exciting.
Acora Acoustics is the first company I’m aware of that makes the speaker enclosures out of granite. And not just any granite: They use a particular kind of granite, sourced from Africa. Ever since he was 16, Valerio Cora, the founder and self-taught designer of Acora Acoustics, has designed speakers with enclosures made from unusual materials including various types of rock.
Countertops, sure, but speakers? Why granite? Because granite is extremely hard, dense, rigid, and well-damped. All those properties are desirable for speaker enclosures.
The downside of granite is that it is hard to work with. Granite is so hard that only diamond cutting tools can be used—that or water jets, which are far less precise. CNC mach nes go slowly when cutting granite, and the tools wear quickly.
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